Comment by Scott on July 31, 2010 at 9:51pm

My dogs reaction was bowled-over laughter upon gazing this over-carved, over textured monstrosity. It was very fun though. I believe I butchered this mix and waited too long to smooth and texture. It was like trying to trowel and imprint sand mixed with cold honey. I'll try another batch and wall soon. We'll see who's laughing next time my loyal companion:)

Mwa ha ha (sinister laugh).

Comment by Christian Maucieri on July 31, 2010 at 11:37pm

when using trupac I found that after adding your initial amount of water, mix well and let it sit for 5 minutes then add enough water and mix again to bring back the consistency. You may have to do this twice. In my experience after I've done this the mix will stay perfect for a 1/2 hour or more if your not in direct sun. Try going on a little thicker it will make a big difference when it comes to your texture and carving.

Comment by Scott on August 1, 2010 at 2:40pm

Thanks for the tip Christian, much appreciated. I will absolutely take your recommendation! I only did half a bag of trupac. I made a half batch with 10 pounds trupac, 30 pounds mortar. One thing I was thinking...do you suppose that the REALLY fine ash/dust/powder in the trupac might have settled to the bottom of the bag and left the brown, larger cork-like spheres/aggregate on the top? Maybe I pooched the mix by pouring off the top, which was more of the aggregate than the actual mix that might have settled to the bottom. The mystery might be unfolding.... I'll let you know but perhaps, for anyone interested in a half batch of trupac, mix it up dry before taking half for a small project?

Comment by Christian Maucieri on August 1, 2010 at 5:50pm

Unless you can pre-mix the bag of tru-pac you should make a full mix. also once you are finished I would suggest misting with water and covering your project with a thin guage poly to keep in the moisture. If you are in direct sun you can also follow that up with a tarp, black garbage bag or blanket. It will help keep cracking to a minimum.

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